Hero officers honored with 'Top Cop' award

Tuesday

May 27, 2014 at 10:35 AMMay 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM

by Adam Sennottwatertown@wickedlocal.com

Watertown Police were dispatched to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. this past week as they were honored by the nation’s Commander in Chief.President Barak Obama bestowed the nation’s 2014 Top Cop award to the seven Watertown Police Officers who engaged in a massive gunfight with the suspected Boston Marathon bombers on April 19, 2013. Along with the Top Cop award, Sgt. John MacLellen, Sgt. Jeff Pugliese, and Officers Joe Reynolds, Miguel Colon, and Tim Menton also won the Law Enforcement Memorial’s Officer of the Month Award.Sgt. John MacLellan, one of the first officers on the scene that morning, said he was honored by the award and happy that his fellow officers were able to share the moment together."They all deserve it," MacLellan said of his fellow officers who received the Top Cop award. "Everyone who was there deserves it…everybody was there and everybody had a part in it. It’s there job and that’s what made it work. So that to me is an awesome part, that everybody is getting it."Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau called the experience a ‘privilege.’"To have them recognized and stand beside the President and Vise President at the White House was an incredible honor for them, our department and our community," Deveau said. "As the Police Chief, I was extremely proud to watch the President speak about their remarkable heroism defending our country while putting themselves at great risk."Though MacLellan and his fellow officers have received numerous awards, he said these are especially meaningful."We’ve gotten a ton of awards," MacLellan said. "But these are national awards…officers all over the country are eligible for these and we’re getting them. That is just unbelievable. It’s just unbelievable to be separated like that from other police officers. It’s just really humbling."While MacLellan left Washington to attend his daughter’s college graduation shortly after receiving his awards, he was able to catch up with a new friend before he left, Vice President Joe Biden."It was the second time I met the Vice President, and what’s really cool is he remembered me," MacLellan said. "He remembered my name, and I’m like ‘holy God,’ you know. I think they get briefed before everything, but still just to remember my name."Officer Miguel Colon called the experience "awe-inspiring" and said he was humbled by the support he received from his fellow officers from across the country."We do what we’re paid and expected to do, protect the community and get the bad guy," Colon said. "But you know, it’s very, very comforting and very nice to be recognized for the [job] that we did."He also happy he could savor the experience with his family."I’ve never been to D.C. before," Colon said. "I actually went with my family down there, my three children, my wife, and my mom. None of them have been there either. So just the whole trip, it was just a few days, we didn’t get to see everything either, but my kids were impressed, they had a great time."I really wanted to share that with my family," Colon said.